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Privacy Policy

Last updated: 2026-08-18

This policy explains what personal data Aperilux processes when you use the website aperilux.app and the Aperilux app for iOS and Android, why, on what legal basis, and what rights you have. Controller: Peter Burgener, Derflibach 3, CH-3855 Schwanden bei Brienz, Switzerland. Contact: [email protected].

Summary

  • We use no advertising trackers and no consent-cookies — that is why there is no cookie banner.
  • Analytics on the website are cookieless and aggregate; we cannot identify you from them. We add no analytics to the apps.
  • The app needs no account. Your precise location is sent, as bare coordinates, only to our own weather server, and camera images never leave your device.
  • We only collect data you actively give us (e.g. your beta email) or that is technically necessary to serve and secure the site, and we keep it only as long as we need it.

The Aperilux app

This part covers the app itself. The iOS and Android apps are separate builds with different capabilities, so each platform has its own section below; what follows first is true on both. Legal basis for the processing described here: performance of the contract (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR), that is, providing the planning functions you ask for.

  • No account, no sign-in. The app has no user accounts, and nothing it sends us is linked to your identity.
  • No ads, no tracking, no analytics in the app. We embed no advertising or analytics SDKs in the app and build no usage profiles.
  • The camera never uploads. The camera feeds the live composition overlay (a viewfinder aid). Frames are processed on your device and are never sent anywhere.
  • Weather through our own server. To fetch a forecast, air-quality data or the ground elevation of a spot, the app sends the coordinates of the requested spot to our own weather proxy at meteo.aperilux.app(a Cloudflare Worker we operate), which forwards them to Open-Meteo, our weather data provider. The request carries coordinates and no identity; we keep no database of weather requests, and responses are cached at the CDN edge for ten minutes (weather, air quality) and up to 30 days (ground-elevation lookups). Open-Meteo receives the coordinates from our server, not from your device, and does not see your IP address.
  • Terrain data (MapTiler). For terrain-aware features the app fetches elevation tiles directly from MapTiler. A tile request names a map area (tile coordinates), not your exact position, and, like any web request, carries your IP address. Tiles are cached on your device for up to 30 days.

In the iOS app (iPhone & iPad)

  • Precise location. With your permission, your location is used on the device to compute sun, moon and Milky Way positions, and is sent as bare coordinates to our weather proxy described above — the only server we operate that ever receives it. It is not linked to your identity and not used for tracking. The app's Apple privacy manifest declares exactly this: precise location, purpose "app functionality", not linked, no tracking.
  • Optional iCloud sync. If your device is signed into iCloud, your spots, gear and plans sync through Apple CloudKit into your own iCloud (the private database of your Apple account). We operate no server that can read that data; Apple processes it under your iCloud agreement and Apple's privacy policy. Without an iCloud account, the app stores everything locally on the device only.
  • Apple system services. The map is Apple Maps (MapKit), and place search uses Apple's geocoding service. Those requests are processed by Apple as your device's operating-system provider, under Apple's privacy policy.
  • Photos. If you grant photo access to apply composition overlays to existing photos, those images are processed on the device and never uploaded.
  • Optional notifications. If you allow notifications, the app schedules local reminders and sky-quality alerts on the device itself; there is no push service and no messaging SDK.
  • No third-party SDKs that phone home. The iOS app ships no analytics or advertising SDKs; its privacy manifest declares no tracking and an empty tracking-domain list.

In the Android app

  • Location (precise or approximate). With your permission, your location is used on the device for sun and shadow calculations, and the coordinates of a chosen spot go to our weather proxy described above to fetch its forecast. Location data is never sold and never used for advertising.
  • Your content stays on the device. Spots, gear and plans are stored locally in an on-device database. The Android app has no cloud sync: no iCloud, no cross-platform sync, and we hold no copy of your content. If you have Android's own backup enabled (Google backup, device-to-device transfer), it may include the app's data; that backup belongs to your Google account and is governed by Google's terms, not processed by us.
  • Google components in the app. Unlike the iOS app, the Android app embeds Google SDKs: the map is Google Maps (Play services Maps SDK), so map tiles and map interactions are requests to Google, and purchases use Google Play Billing, so payment is handled entirely by Google Play and we never see your payment details. These components process data under Google's privacy policy. The app's third-party notices list everything that ships in it.
  • Place search. Search and reverse lookup use the Android system geocoder (a service of your device's operating system, typically backed by Google Play services) — the direct counterpart of the Apple service the iOS app uses.
  • Optional notifications. The notification permission enables sky-quality and best-light alerts. Alerts are computed on your device and shown as local notifications; there is no push service and no messaging SDK.
  • No analytics added. We add no advertising or analytics SDKs on Android either.

The website (aperilux.app)

The sections below cover the website only, not the app.

Hosting & server logs (Cloudflare)

The site is served via Cloudflare Pages/CDN. Cloudflare processes connection data (including your IP address, user-agent, and requested URL) to deliver and secure the site. Legal basis: legitimate interest in providing a secure, performant website (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR). Cloudflare acts as our processor. Server/security logs are retained for a short period and then deleted or aggregated.

Analytics

The site currently loads no analytics script. If we add one, it will be privacy-friendly and cookieless (Plausible, EU-hosted), measuring aggregate usage — page views, referrers, country, device type — without cookies, cross-site identifiers, or profiling, and this page will say so. Legal basis when enabled: legitimate interest in understanding and improving the site (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR).

Bot protection (Cloudflare Turnstile)

Forms (such as the beta signup) are protected by Cloudflare Turnstile to prevent spam and abuse. Turnstile runs only on those form pages, assesses the request, and is strictly necessary for the security of the service (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR). Cloudflare acts as our processor.

Location for the "live sky" feature

To greet you with sun and sky times near you, the site derives an approximate country from your IP address (via Cloudflare) and maps it to a representative city. This is processed transiently to render the page; it is not stored and is not used to profile you. Legal basis: legitimate interest (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR).

If you tap "Use my exact location", your browser asks your permission and shares precise coordinates with your device only to compute local sky times in the browser — these coordinates are not sent to or stored by us. You can decline, and can revoke the permission in your browser at any time.

Beta program

If you sign up for the beta, we process the email address (and any optional name/device info) you provide, plus a record of your consent, solely to give you access to the test (e.g. TestFlight) and to send you beta-related messages. Legal basis: your consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR). We store the minimum needed and delete your entry at the end of the beta program, or earlier if you withdraw via the unsubscribe link or by emailing us.

Newsletter

We do not currently operate a newsletter. If we introduce one, it will use double opt-in (confirmed subscription) and we will update this policy before launching it.

Community showcase

The "Planned with Aperilux" community showcase is in preparation and not yet live. When it launches, its first phase will accept photo submissions only from users located outside the EU/EEA; the public gallery will be viewable by everyone. If you submit a photo, we will process the image, the details you provide (title, optional location/gear, links), your contact email (never published), and a consent record (timestamp, IP, image hash, terms version). Approved images are published with credit; we strip embedded EXIF/GPS metadata on approval. Legal basis: your consent and the performance of the showcase terms (Art. 6(1)(a)/(b) GDPR). You can request removal of an image and your data at any time — see the showcase terms.

Email delivery

Transactional emails (beta confirmations and similar notices) are sent via Zoho ZeptoMail (Zoho Corporation), acting as our processor, using an EU data centre, under a data processing agreement.

Recipients & international transfers

We share data only with the recipients named above, to the extent needed to run the service: Cloudflare (site hosting/CDN and the weather proxy), Plausible (website analytics, only if enabled), Zoho ZeptoMail (email), Open-Meteo (weather data, receiving coordinates from our proxy), and MapTiler (terrain data). Apple (iCloud, Maps, geocoding) and Google (Maps, Play Billing, Android system services) process their parts as your platform providers under their own terms and privacy policies. We prefer EU data-residency options; the EU/EEA provides an adequate level of protection under Swiss law, so those transfers need no additional safeguard. Where a processor is elsewhere, transfers rely on an appropriate safeguard (Standard Contractual Clauses and/or Data Privacy Framework participation).

Retention

We keep personal data only as long as needed for the purpose it was collected: server logs briefly; beta entries until the end of the beta program (or your earlier withdrawal); showcase submissions until you request removal or we retire the gallery. Consent records are kept as evidence of consent for as long as legally required. The app's content lives on your device (and, on iOS, in your own iCloud if you enable sync); we keep no copy of it, and weather requests are not stored by us beyond short-lived CDN caching.

Your rights

Under the GDPR (and the Swiss FADP where applicable) you have the right to access, rectify, erase, restrict, and port your data, and to object to processing based on legitimate interest. Where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time without affecting prior processing. To exercise any right, email [email protected]. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority: in Switzerland, the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC / EDÖB); and if you are in the EU, your national data protection authority.

Changes

We may update this policy; material changes will be reflected in the "last updated" date above.